Never a Dull Moment
on 10/11/2010 at 07:40 AM
I hate those do it yourself put togethers. The Engrish is sometimes hard to handle but even when it is, I always get the feeling that whoever writes the instructions has never actually done the put together part.
So anyway .... I’d lay out everything first. Check. Make sure everything is accounted for.
Check ... And then ... Wait a minute. Is it this way or that way? The picture doesn’t look like what I have bought. ??? But okay .. I’ll manage. Slots. Damn thing won’t fit. Oh, it’s upside down. But that’s how it pictured. Oh shit ... where the hell is that damn part. Was right behind me a second ago. Hell with it. I think I have some duk tape somewhere.Or you could always just ‘call the guy’.
But in this case Drew is the ‘guy’.
Very sneaky Drew.So OK Drew - I know you won’t come to OH for work - how does one go about finding someone like you (without being taken) - We spent way too many years moving about - finding local has been hit or miss with us. Mostly found while water is gushing (who the hell puts the main turnoff out in the middle of the front yard?!?) - but thus far has turned out mostly ok (just a few crappy car ‘fixers’ but that is probably par the course). Not for the immediate - our checks have stopped, suppose to start again - still waiting - so we are down to food and gas. But in the future I do not see either of us doing it anymore - we’ve had a bad year and my husbands shoulders (rotor cuff tears), back and knees are really failing fast - so as we get re-employed - how exactly do we go about finding the guy who will clean out our gutters (or re-attach them) and so forth for us? This is for people like us who reached middle age without owning a home because we were busy moving around for two decades - and never lived in the same spot to know who the crooks are and who is a good guy.
God Help America
A Proud American InfidelI wish I had the answer Wardmama. I guess you have to speak to them and make a judgment call, although not everyone who is a great worker is a great communicator. Ask for references and call those people up. Ask them if the guy went the extra mile.
One problem with finding a repairman who is mostly a craftsman is that they will probably charge accordingly, and may not be a master of all fixes. What you want is a person who is superb at solving problems on the fly, and one who will stop and take the time to think of 2 or 3 solutions before starting work, and then pick the best one, or better yet outline the plans and let the customer pick. One who will tell you honestly when a job is beyond his ability, and recommend you get a “pro”.
I’m the guy who, by default, always picks the solution that gives the best and most sturdy results, screw the cost, time, and effort. Many other folks will consider “best” to mean “fastest” or “least expensive”. If you pose those kinds of questions to a prospective handyman - “Ok, suppose I have a fist size hole in the drywall. How would you fix it, knowing I want the repair to be both strong and invisible?” - then you will find your guy. Not communicating that you want the best solution will always get you the cheap fix. Most handyguys can do superb work, but most won’t do it because they know the customer will freak when they get the bill. You have to let them know this is what you want ahead of time. There is always a balance point between cost time and results, and you have to choose that point. And the wisest customer will pretty much know how the repair needs to be done, but just doesn’t have the time or strength to do it herself.
The best guys will tell you that they stand behind their work, and if it fails or if you are unhappy with the results they will make it right for no extra cost. I’ve only been burned once by a customer with that; she had all this work for me to do, but balked at my estimate. So I showed her how she could do half the tasks herself for very little time or cost, and she was happy. But then when I didn’t do the jobs that she had said she could do herself she was pissed at me and felt ripped off. And that was after I went back to her place twice to make my repairs even more “perfecter”. She also had no concept of the time involved. I guess she assumed real work was like what they show on TV: cut to a 3 minute commercial break and when you come back everything is done.
Thanks Drew - I have just always done everything and/or hubby but this year - not so sure. I think that the emotional stress (I really hate doing family drama stuff) of my Mom’s passing has sucked the life out of me - the weather has been far too wet for either of us - but I look around and see so much to be done - and wonder if we will ever get back to being able to do it.
And as I said, we move around and trying to set up sucks. I asked a couple of people who have been here (old HS friends) for a couple of suggestions - that did not work at all. It is the one thing about this place I have never liked (born and raised here) - that anti-outsider attitude that makes Texas look positively warm and fuzzy.
We did however get some of the major (a leak in the basement wall)items done and the ‘take down’ of the backyard done. So I guess it hasn’t been that dismal. And when it came time to move all those dang boxes of my Mom’s - I managed to do it with my daughter and a cousin. So I guess there is still life in this old gray mare.
My parents who could have hired the best companies always used the guy around the corner & teenagers to do the heavy lifting - they believed that the guy who was working to put food on the table deserved the job more than anyone else - and I think that they were right.
God Help America
A Proud American Infidel
10/11/2010 at 08:05 AM
